


An Amity Dawn Family Christmas

by Fox_the_Clever_Turnip



Category: Original Work
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Clones, Family, Gen, Heist, Science Fiction, space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 14:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2854886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fox_the_Clever_Turnip/pseuds/Fox_the_Clever_Turnip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grey wants to give Kizzy a proper Christmas dinner, but where will he find a turkey in space?</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Amity Dawn Family Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Another Cloneverse Christmas special. I promise, this is the last one and the most fun. Enjoy.

_An Amity Dawn Family Christmas_

          “And where the _fuck_ are we supposed to find a turkey?” Kadri asked, swiveling back and forth in the command chair, dark eyes narrowed on John, who only stared flatly at her in return.

“I don’t _fucking_ know, but it’s tradition and Kizzy’s looking forward to it. I’m sure we can drum up something—” Grey cut himself off, watching Kadri spin in a full circle, before she came to a stop and folded her arms again.

There was nothing that was going to sway her, and he knew she had a point. Where were they going to get a turkey? It’s not like space had like… supermarkets. Well, it kind of did, in a weird, processed-shit kind of way, and only if they felt like hitting up a space station. Now, if they docked at Dorset, the might find some gross bird-pieces imported from neighboring planets. The good stuff was always picked clean, and most of the “good stuff” was found in the bazaar stalls. Good as in “better than the corporate shit,” but also a bit on the shaky side when it came to… origins.

Making a face, Greyson plopped his back against the doorframe to the bridge. He couldn’t go back to Fairsky. He’d been banned—well, run off by a horde of guards with Ruslana Valeriy screaming obscenities and commands at their backs. Probably best not to show up with the intention of grocery shopping.

“Aside from turkeys, is there anything else I can fail to help you with so I can get back to work?” Kadri asked, back to swiveling back and forth.

“Yeah, like you’re working.” Greyson pushed off of the door frame and shook his head. “Nothing, no. At least, not yet. Keep an open mind.” He winked and strode off down the hall, leaving Kadri blinking awkwardly after him.

#

          Now, station shopping areas wouldn’t have been the best choice, John knew, but there was something brewing in his head. He was onto something, but what? Stations had poultry and all sorts of red meat, but nothing living. Nothing that could be modified into a real Christmas dinner. But that was thinking narrowly. No… he had to be more creative.

“Thinking hard?” Hunter slipped into the kitchen with an alarming soundlessness for a man his size, and Greyson was jerked from his thoughts when he spoke.

“Ah, sort of. Have you ever been to Helix Inc?”

Hunter shrugged. “Passed it. Never actually been there. Why?”

Greyson tapped the rim of his cup with a fingertip, chewing his lower lip. “I need a turkey.”

“A… you… need a _turkey?”_ Hunter paused in his opening of the coffee canister. “What for?”

“Christmas dinner.”

He took a deep breath and nodded sagely. “You want a turkey for Christmas dinner, and you… you think you can find that at a floating research facility… why?”

“Because there’s a nature preserve—sort of. An artificial nature preserve. It’s on the center deck, the one that spans the four towers. Just this massive space station… zoo. Only people aren’t allowed to visit. It’s tended to constantly.” Greyson sat up and looked up to Hunter with a grin. “We need to get in.”

Hunter choked on a laugh. “We need to get in to steal a turkey? Have you lost your fucking mind?”

“Kizzy wants a Christmas dinner, and I’m going to give her one.”

“We don’t even have the means to cook a turkey on this ship, Grey. We just don’t. You’re going to go kidnap a live turkey so we can… kill, pluck, and fail to cook it? Have you ever slaughtered your own dinner before?” Hunter asked, going back to making his coffee.

“I haven’t. But you have. Talmai has. I’m sure Kadri’s done her share of killing shit and then eating it—“

“Fucked up, but pretty funny.”

Grey snorted. “Right? Anyway, we’re having a family Christmas.”

“And _we’re_ the family.”

“That’s the plan, yeah,” Grey stated, and Hunter gave a slow nod.

“Okay. I’m in, but not because I feel like our adorable band of misfits deserves a family dinner. I’m in because this is going to end in abject disaster and I want to be available with a recording device when that happens. Good luck,” he said, and set to fixing his drink.

“Luck? No. Skill. And you’re coming along. I need you there for security purposes.” Greyson grinned.

“Nope. Absolutely not. I’ll give you my gear, but I’m not down with kidnapping turkeys on stations with extremely high security standards. There have been much more worthy things for me to be euthanized for. Turkeys are not on the list.”

Greyson sighed and nodded, pushing himself up from his chair. “Alright. I’ll ask Talmai.”

“No! Don’t bring him into this stupidity, John!” Hunter all but chased after him, with Greyson striding confidently into the engine room. Naturally, Talmai was settled comfortably on the floor, piecing together some piece of machinery. “Babe, whatever he tells you, just tell him he’s a moron.”

Talmai, all reptilian curiosity, stood up, leaving his mess on the floor strewn across a shop towel. “In all fairness, my love, he _is_ a moron. What do you want, John?”

“I need to steal a turkey from Helix Inc so we can show Kizzy a real Christmas,” he said, arms folding indignantly, though they slid back to his sides under Talmai’s blank stare. “You mean Hunter never told you about Christmas?”

“I grew up in a lab. I never had a Christmas. It wasn’t relevant,” Hunter snapped.

Grey scoffed. “We’re getting a goddamn turkey and you all get to have Christmas. I’m going to fucking show both of you. Talmai, get your tablet and your surveillance gear.”

“He’s a vegetarian, John. He’s not going to help you kill a turkey to—”

“Of course. When do we depart?” Talmai responded, and Hunter threw his hands up.

“Unbelievable.”

Greyson, grinning ear to ear, headed back out of the engine room. “I’ll let you know. I need to wait until Kadri abandons the helm,” he called over his shoulder, feeling pretty fucking victorious.

#

As John expected, Kadri took her sweet time in wrapping things up for the night and chose not to lock up. She never did, really. It made it easy for her to stumble up here half-asleep and get things done. If _Amity Dawn’s_ proximity sensors went off, she could crawl up here in her pajamas and make certain they weren’t crashing to their deaths.

That had only almost happened once, though, to her credit. Greyson was very impressed by Kadri’s ability to handle her ship and her crew, all things considered. The last time they had spent any length of time together, Greyson and Kadri were running under Andus, another clone with a much more refined sense of duty and leadership. Neither of them had any idea how Andus had gotten as far as he had—his life was as complicated as any clone’s—without getting himself executed. The man was a machine, his team had been ruthless, and now he was sitting pretty on the Council of the Federal Collective of Earth’s Citizens. The F.C. had no idea what they were getting themselves into, appointing Andus to a position of power. Ambassador and Liaison for clones in the Collective.

Not that that got shit done. Greyson was just happy to be out from under that mess, but it was still weird to see Kadri so… functional outside of it. She had trusted Andus completely—they both had—but it was just surreal that she didn’t crumble when he sold out and left them behind. It was a good move, they all knew it. John just expected him to have _done_ more with that movie.

Regardless, Kadri was out of the command chair and safely tucked into bed, so Greyson slipped in and plopped down. All the lights and dials were a bit flashier than his own ship, which was a tiny, two-person bio-hauler re-outfitted for non-living cargo. Sleek and made for efficiency, it didn’t have the rigging that this ship had. This ship was made to support a crew and get them around. Naturally, it took a little fiddling to get everything where he needed it to be, but, before long, they were headed straight for Helix Inc.

“So, what’s the plan?” Talmai’s soft tenor rang gently from the doorway and Greyson glanced over his shoulder.

“We go into Helix with the intent to tour the conservation center, since it’s open to the public, and make our attack then,” he noted with a little nod of assurance.

Talmai chuckled, hardly audible in the whirr of the control room. “That truly is insane. Do you not think they would make certain we haven’t stolen any of their animals?”

“Well… honestly, I hadn’t thought through the escape plan yet. Right now, I’ve got ‘tour the conservation center’ and ‘grab a turkey.’”

“Grab a turkey?”

Greyson glanced over to the Ularian and nodded. “Yes. Grab a turkey. I have no idea how or what we’re going to do with it, but—”

“But we may actually get arrested,” Talmai stated and looked down to his clawed fingertips.

John cleared his throat then. “Ah, probably more likely than not, but I want to at least try. Kizzy is a good kid.”

“She is, yes. Very sweet. I think the gesture will mean a quite a lot to her. You’ve been a wonderful role model for Kizzy, Greyson. I feel like that’s something entirely new for you.” Talmai smiled a bit, his lithe arms folding across his chest.

“Not a role model. It’s just sad that some of my experiences were better than hers, you know? I mean, I’m a fucking monster. Most guys like me are. We don’t _know_ any different, but _she_ should get to. _She_ should have a family and a life and a Christmas. What was the point of leaving Earth behind to preserve their asses and their cultures if they were just going to let that shit slide? I mean, I know Christmas has been a dozen different things over the course of humanity’s development, but there’s always Christmas dinner.” He fiddled with the metal edge of the seatbelt on the command chair.

“You’ve had many Christmases?”

Greyson smiled faintly. “Only one. It was me and Kadri… and Andus and Hunter and quite a few others. It was our first mission and we came back in once piece and Andus made sure we had turkey and potatoes and everything that made Christmas worth it. Including each other. We may have been a mess, Tal, but we were a unit. A family. None of us had ever had that before….” He gave a weak laugh. “Sappier than I’m used to, but there it is. I just want the kid to know what it’s like to have a whole day, with dinner and dessert and everything, where we can just be….”

“A family?” Talmai’s colors flared, the violet and coral lighting up the highpoints of his face in a beautiful dance of emotion.

“Sure. Yeah. A family.” Greyson shrugged a little. “I can’t stand any of you people. Kadri least of all. Don’t forget that.”

Talmai chuckled quietly. “Yes, of course. I wouldn’t dream of assuming you were fond of any of us in any way. I’ll ready myself for an off-ship excursion, then. I’ve tried to convince Hunter to go, but he absolutely refuses. Not a surprise, really. He doesn’t fare well in crowds.”

“For the best. You and I are going to pretend to be a couple,” Greyson said with a beaming, mocking smile.

A flat, drained look dragged down the reptile’s expression and he sighed. “Don’t tell Hunter. He may explode. He likes you well enough, John, but he certainly doesn’t trust you. Especially not with me.”

Blinking, Grey stood. “What makes you say that?” He stepped out of the bridge and headed down the hallway with Talmai falling into step beside him. The Ularian was a full head shorter than he was, but he carried himself like a giant.

“He’s told me.”

Grey snorted. “Are you kidding me? In what capacity?” He tapped his fingers along the aluminum handrail as they walked.

“ _Every_ capacity. So, will you tell me your plan, or shall I begin the itinerary myself?” Talmai folded his arms, his shoulders shifting just faintly, as if he still carried his wings at his back. There was nothing there but scar tissue now, but he didn’t seem to be fazed by it. At least, not anymore. Grey had to imagine having his wings severed would have been incredibly traumatic. It wasn’t like having a limb amputated, not to an Ularian. It wasn’t the same.

“I don’t exactly have a plan. I mean, we go in under the guise of a couple, snatch a turkey and leave.” John blinked owlishly at him. _Obviously_ that was the plan. What more did they need?

Talmai stared back, blank and unsettling. “No,” he said after a moment and tucked his chin to his chest, lips pressing together just slightly.

Grey forced a breath out through his nose. No. Fine. He kept quiet, assuming his friend had more to add to his refusal of their ‘plan.’

As expected, Talmai took Grey by the arm to stop him walking. “I think we need to play the decoys and have someone else snatch the turkey. We need more control over this scenario than ‘sneak in and steal a turkey.’ There needs to be more planning, more preparation. I think we could use Kadri—”

“She wants no part of it.”

Talmai chewed his lip and leaned against the hall wall, narrowing his eyes on Grey’s boots. “So it’s truly just you and me.”

“I told you. Unless you can get Hunter to run surveillance, but I’m not really holding my breath,” Grey noted, giving a shrug as his lips curled into a devilish grin. “So. You know. Let’s go steal a fucking turkey.”

Talmai couldn’t seem to resist rolling his eyes at the newest addition to the _Amity Dawn_ crew. John and Kadri had history. John and Hunter had history. Hunter and Kadri had history. Really, the only person who didn’t have some pre-existing theatrics with everyone on the crew was Talmai, and, he had to admit, he felt a bit left out. He didn’t get the references or inside jokes, but having Hunter there made it worth it. Intellectually, he wasn’t stupid enough to actually _want_ the nonsense that went on between everyone on _Amity Dawn’s_ crew, but there was some sort of… bonding… thing… about it. Humans—even cloned humans—had some odd measure of emotional frivolity that had moments of appeal. The way they expressed excitement or anger—it wasn’t something his Ularian upbringing allowed him to be accustomed to.

“Yes. Let us go… steal a fucking turkey,” Talmai agreed. Kadri was going to be furious.

#

          Helix Inc was no less massive than everyone had said. Greyson drew a deep breath to stifle the butterflies in his stomach as their airlock sealed with the station’s. It had only been about five hours and Kadri was, thankfully, still asleep. Grey was _really_ looking forward to the conversation they were going to have when she woke up and realized where they were.

A heavy hand closed on his shoulder and John damn near jumped out of his skin as he spun the chair around.

Hunter glared down at him. “I don’t care what your plan is, John, even if you have to… do whatever it is you’re going to do with Talmai out there, but if you get him arrested or hurt, I’m going to kill you.” His tone was flat, menacing, and he loomed over Grey like a giant.

He _was_ a giant, compared with most people.

Grey shook off the startled expression and offered an easy smile. “I’ll look after him like he’s my own,” he taunted, gently, so as not to invite a punch from Captain Beef Hands.

“He’s _not_ yours. He’s _mine_ , and that’s the only reason I’ve agreed to help you.”

“Help us?” Grey shifted back in the chair, trying to put a bit of distance between them. Hunter was like a brick wall, and right now Grey had no way around him. Being trapped in this chair with Hunter feeling possessive was a shitty position to be in.

“Tal wanted me to run surveillance. It’s for _his_ safety. If you do something stupid, Talmai takes priority. If I have to leave you there, if rescuing you is even in the slightest bit inconvenient, I will let them have you, arrest warrants and all. Are we on the same page?” Hunter narrowed his eyes, leaving Grey no room to decline. He just nodded like an idiot until the airlock chimed to alert them to proper pressurization. Great.

Hunter stepped back and motioned Grey out of the chair, which was quickly given up as Grey all but launched himself into the hallway. Jesus fucking Christ. He cast a look over his shoulder, but when he turned back around, he damn near tripped over himself and right into Kadri.

“What the fuck is this?” she demanded, still in fuzzy purple pajama pants and a lace-trimmed camisole. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face in a black head wrap, leaving the short ends poking out the back of it, just an inch or so above her shoulders. Cute.

Grey smiled that easy smile—Kadri was more likely to knock his teeth out, but he _knew_ her patterns. Hunter wasn’t typically violent and the idiot knocked him off guard.

“This is a heist,” he answered cheerfully. “Tomorrow’s Christmas. I didn’t have time to plan too hard.”

With a snort of laughter, and a scrutinizing up-and-down glance, Kadri folded her arms. “But still did exactly what I told you not to.”

“Can we walk and talk? I’m kind of on a time table here,” he said, stepping past her and jogging down the steps into the row of cabins that housed the crew.

“Did you think I wouldn’t wake up?” The scuffle of her rainbow slippers against the diamond plate flooring was comical. For such a hard ass, she dressed like a ten year old for bed. “Did you think I wouldn’t _eventually_ check the fucking coordinates?”

Grey shrugged and knocked on the door that Talmai shared with Hunter. “Yeah, I knew, but I figured we’d be here by the time you did wake up, and—well, here we are, right? Going to call it off now?”

“We have enough problems!”

“I know.” He sighed and opened his palms, capitulating. “And you’re right. I’m an idiot and I’m reckless and stupid, but I’m doing this. Tal is helping and Hunter is running surveillance. We’ll be back in no time.”

“With a live fucking turkey!” she huffed and threw her hands up. “Believe it or not, I’m supposed to be captaining this ship!”

The door slid open and Talmai stepped out, dress casually, in Ularian clothes with a draped swathe of fabric down his back that was meant to fall between a pair of wings. His just left two empty slots where wings should have been. “Yes, Captain. You know you have my utmost love and respect, but, believe it or not, John’s heart is in the right place. Kizzy is a sweet girl and she’s had a very hard year. Will you let us do this for?”

“The year has been hard on everyone, and we still have Althea to deal with. This isn’t a game. Be careful and come back immediately at any sign of trouble. Keep in contact with Hunter. I’ll be with him from beginning to end.” She was always so decent to—Jesus Christ _, everyone_ else. Then she turned to John, brow furrowed. “Don’t be stupid, hear me?”

“Thank you, Captain, I will be careful. Your concern is overwhelming,” Grey smiled, and turned his back to head down to the airlock with Talmai right on his heels.

Security was easy, but that was no shock. The conservation area was public access and Kadri’s ship was clean of any citations. How she managed that in her line of work was a fucking miracle. Running clones and goods to freedom or to ensure the welfare of those who needed help was somewhat frowned upon. If anyone found out, she’d lose more than just her ship. They’d revoke her emancipation and order her decommissioned—euthanized. Bad as their fights were, Grey didn’t want to see that to happen to her. Or to anyone, really.

“This station is vast,” Talmai whispered to him, smiling and acting the part of a doting lover, their hands entwined, the Ularian leaning into him just slightly as they walked. “We will need to consult a map. The turkeys will likely be kept with other fowl of a forest-dwelling nature. Deciduous, correct?”

“Yeah. Probably in a replica of the North American climate. Do you suppose they divide the areas that way?” Grey asked, scanning around for some sort of map or “you are here” dot or something.

“Very likely. A planet’s biomes are very specific and would greatly affect the variety of wildlife they contain. I cannot imagine them dividing it any other way while still maintaining healthy animals. Then again, I’m hardly a zoo keeper,” sighed Talmai, pointing across the curving hallway. “There. An interactive display. Shall we, my love?”

 _“Ease off a bit,”_ Hunter muttered through their earpieces and Grey grinned.

“Of course, _darling._ I wouldn’t want you to miss seeing the forests they’ve built here. I wonder if they’ve created a true simulation. Imagine how _romantic_ it would be to stand under the bright, changing colors of the autumn foliage?” Grey purred and he felt Talmai tense.

_“I will fucking skin you, John, I swear it.”_

He snickered at the venom in Hunter’s voice. The man was a teddy bear, more often than not, and hearing him so… _bristly_ was comical. At least, it was until Talmai pinched his side, giving the tender flesh at his ribs, just beside his elbow, a vicious, but discreet, twist. “Hush,” he whispered and headed for the display. Talmai was a genius with this sort of thing, and, as expected, had the conservation deck’s schematics brought up with a map of each biome laid out in a massive ring.

“We seem to be here,” he said, pointing to an area while dozens of people passed or stopped to reference the map as well. “And we want to be here.” He pointed about two sections to their left. “If we follow the inner ring here, we can bypass these two and go straight to this forested area. It seems the conservation deck is actually four separate decks. We will have to move up a level.” Taking a few steps to the left, he palmed the wall and an elevator door slid open.

“How did you even—?”

“Magic.” Talmai stepped in and immediately freed his hand when the doors shut, taking a deep breath. “Your hands sweat. It truly is a human trait and it’s awful.”

“You’re a giant lizard, Tal. It’s like having my hands coated in leather in hundred degree weather. Yes, my fucking hands sweat. Jesus.” The elevator stopped with a quiet _ping_ , and just like that their hands were joined again.

Two sections to the right. They made their way through the crowds, and into the enormous room they had targeted. It was filled with trees, but also peppered with meadows and clearings. Helix Inc was massive to say the least, and the air… real, tree-filtered air… it smelled so crisp and perfect and not at all like the plastic or pennies the atmospheric generator feeds provided on most ships or stations. There were birds flying overhead, deer grazing in the grass ahead and to their left, and squirrels bouncing from tree to tree.

“It’s… nature.”

Talmai nodded. “We were not meant to live in metal constructs in the sky, John. It’s a shame neither of us can ever go home.”

The silence burned a hole in him, and, finally, he gave him a tug. “Let’s get this over with. This place is beautiful, but fucking depressing.”

Two full hours passed as they searched the biome for their prey, hunting through bushes and trees and fields. There was no more left to search. Grey threw himself back against a tree and slid to the ground. “So much for this. It was a stupid plan anyway.”

Talmai didn’t make any effort to prove him wrong, and, instead, leaned against the tree at his side, looking down at him. “You meant well. Perhaps they have no turkeys on this station.”

 _“Wrong. Cross the meadow. Ten feet to the left.”_ Hunter’s voice was a godsend and had Grey on his feet before he could even finish. He snatched Talmai’s hand and forced himself not to run like hell across that damn meadow. Who puts a fucking meadow in a space station? It was huge.

But there they were. There must have been ten of them, the biggest of the flock sporting a massive black and white fan of a tail. The male, he was sure. It wasn’t likely he could get that one, and then, what if it was the only male? He didn’t want to kill the entire turkey population forever….

“I want that one.” Grey nodded toward a female, poking around on her own, large, but plainer than the male and still bigger than many of the other females. It would feed everyone comfortably. Slowly, Grey stalked forward, glancing back to Talmai. “Get her from the other side,” he whispered, crouching a bit as he moved forward.

_“Someone is going to notice you two boneheads trying to trap that thing with your bare hands.”_

“Shut the fuck up, Hunter,” Grey hissed and scooted through the tall grass, practically squatting like a lunatic stalking his prey. Talmai came around the other side just as the turkey started to run—Grey saw the panic hit him and watched him dart out of the way. “You were supposed to catch it!”

“I cannot catch a bird that large! It’s massive!”

John huffed and took off running after it, with Hunter’s hysterical laughter in his ear.

_“You know they have security feeds too, right? What do you think I’m watching? You’re going to get arrested, John. Tal, come home and let him be stupid on his own, alright?”_

Glancing over his shoulder, Greyson’s lips cracked into a grin as Talmai came bolting up beside him. “Take the right, I will take the left. It has to grow tired eventually!” the Ularian determined and veered left. Grey swerved right, and gasped, skidding to a stop and toppling forward onto his face. In the dirt.

A security guard stood there, glaring down at him, arms folded menacingly over his chest. Scuffed up and bruised, Grey offered a sheepish smile, catching Talmai being dragged by the shoulder of his shirt all the way over to the exit.

“We’re going to request that you and your… accomplice leave the premises, sir. Terrorizing the animals is… erm… _frowned upon_. I don’t want to see you at Helix Inc again, do you understand?” Was he making his voice that deep on purpose? It sounded ridiculous.

Grey pushed himself off the ground and dusted himself off. “Fine, fine. Sorry. We’re going. Have a nice night… officer? Sir? Forest cop?” Grey gave a sarcastic salute and stepped around him and into the hallway where Tal was waiting. Hunter was still in hysterics in his ear, and he was pretty sure he heard Kadri cackling in the background.

“That went well,” Grey chirped. “No turkey, but… you know… could have been worse.”

“Quite true, I suppose. You’re bleeding.” Talmai tapped his own chin as he looked at Grey’s. Yup. Scuffed and dirty. Oh well. Empty-handed or not, at least he had an injury to rave about. However minor, it was still a story Kizzy would get a kick out of it. Probably for the best.

#

“I’m glad you didn’t get arrested,” Kizzy offered, elbows on the metal table centered in the galley, twirling a strand of purple hair around her finger. It shone brightly against the blond, but seemed to match her perfectly. “In all honestly, I’m not sure I could have eaten something that had been slaughtered in the kitchen sink, anyway.”

Grey nodded while Kadri dabbed peroxide on his scraped chin with a cotton ball. “I just wanted you to have what everyone should have this time of year. We’ll think of something else next year.”

“It was stupid going in there. We’re lucky they let us go,” Kadri stated, taping a square of sterile gauze over the scrape. “But it was… decent of you to want to give her that. The family thing, I mean.”

“I wanted to give it to everyone, Kadri. Our lives aren’t exactly cheerful, and I’ve been a shit these last few years. I just wanted—”

“I know. You don’t have to go steal a turkey to be here, John. You’re here because we want you here. Believe me, if I still harbored some kind of grudge for everything with Althea and the mess at Dorset, you wouldn’t be. You’re home and even if we’re eating meat and vegetables from cans, loaded with salt, and pre-injected with nutrients, it’s Christmas dinner enough for me.” She set the peroxide aside and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Kizzy smiled brightly. “None of us can cook anyway. Not real food. It would probably kill us all. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, indeed.” Talmai stepped in and instantly had Hunter at his back, arms laced around his shoulders.

“So, is the next heist a pine tree? We could probably snatch one from a terraformed moon over by Fairsky, what do you think?” Hunter teased, giving Talmai a little squeeze.

Grey laughed. “No, we’re all here and I guess that’s enough. It’s more than we had last year, right?”

“Besides, the Earth calendar is irrelevant in space,” said Talmai, smiling just slightly. “Perhaps next December twenty-fifth—or the closest approximation out here—we can be better prepared with dinner and your other customs.”

“Right, so next year: gifts, trees, the whole shebang. And we’ll take another crack at that turkey. I think the security team will forget about this fiasco by then,” Greyson nodded and rose. “I’m going to plan next year’s adventure. ‘Scuse me.”

Kadri sighed and rolled her eyes. “So much for togetherness being enough. Merry Christmas. I’m going back to bed. I don’t even want to know where you idiots think we’re going to put a tree in here….”


End file.
